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Congratulations luddites! Rare is going to be fixing the text for your standard def TVs. Expect the fix to be implemented sometime within the next month. That's... well, that's pretty much so it. I'm sure you guys can find something else worth playing until then. Maybe read a book? Paint a picture? I don't know. Just be patient I guess.

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If you've yet to make the jump to a high-definition television, then you might be a bit disappointed with this news: Joystiq is reporting that the text for the upcoming 360 title Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts is muddled when viewed on standard-definition televisions.

Worse yet, Rare has announced that they aren't planning to take action in order to fix it, stating that it would require too much "time, resources and money to alter."

While there are certainly many gamers who already own HDTVs, this should be a huge annoyance to those still relying on standard ones. It shall be interesting to note how this affects the November NPDs.

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Following the special preorder bonus, the demo for Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts has made its way to Xbox Live. The demo is sized at 1.07 GB and allows you to explore vehicle building and "Jiggy" challenges.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts is set for release on November 11.

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If you're a Banjo-Kazooie fan, then there's no doubt that you've been waiting since last month for details on how to pre-order Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, as it was then that Rare revealed that those who do pre-order will receive an Xbox Live Arcade version of the original Kazooie game as a bonus. Wait no longer; those details are finally here.

"You'll get the free B-K download token on or near the time you pick up Nuts & Bolts, and for the period between the launch of the two games (Nuts & Bolts on November 11th/14th in US/Europe, B-K XBLA on November 26th), only N&B pre-order customers will be able to download and play B-K XBLA," says a news post on Rare's official website.

Continue reading...

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Microsoft has released these first images of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts for the Xbox 360. The game is developed by Rare and is said to be available this November.

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Previously known as Banjo Kazooie 3, Microsoft has officially announced that Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts for the Xbox 360 is set for a November release. The game is a radical departure from the series' platforming roots as the gameplay ventures into vehicle building and customization modes.

Hit the jump to view more images.

Continue reading...

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According to CVG, Banjo Kazooie 3 is rumored to be scheduled for a 2008 release following an earlier discussion between Microsoft Game Studios head, Shane Kim and MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo at this year's DICE summit.

Quoth directly from the news story, a Microsoft spokesperson issued this comment:

"As announced at E3 last year, the next installment in the popular Banjo franchise is still on target for 2008."

Those that wish to read the full interview can do so here.

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The vibe from the Sony camp is definitely positive since the holidays, with chief executive of SCE Kaz Hirai recently commenting to Reuters that it is possible for Sony to begin turning a profit on the PlayStation 3 console over the next fiscal year.

Hirai stated, "The next fiscal year starts in April and if we can try to achieve that in the next fiscal year that would be a great thing. We are going through the budgets right now. That [profitability] is not a definite commitment, but that is what I would like to try to shoot for."

Hirai explained that the cost of making the machine - specifically the cheaper 40GB model - is what is helping Sony reach this goal. Here's a nice summary:

"Component costs are coming down, and the number of components ... we are seeing a reduction. The 40 gigabyte PlayStation 3 obviously has fewer components, and uses less power, which means that components required to dissipate heat, for example, can be smaller, so there is some cost reduction there... So costs are coming down significantly."

Makes one wonder why they didn't offer the 40GB model from the start.

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According to a Famitsu interview of Kaz Hirai, SCE's President and CEO, as translated by 1UP, Hirai is "not satisfied" with the current state of PlayStation Home, the online service meant to vastly improve the PlayStation 3's multiplayer experience. He stated that "[Home] is a very big project for the PS3 and we want to make sure that we deliver to our hearts content. We hope everyone will look forward to its spring release next year."

Hirai also commented on the company's decision to remove backwards compatibility features from the new 40GB version of the PS3, stating that they "concluded that it is only one of many features of the PS3. What is more important is for the users to play PS3 games on the PS3, so our top priority is for them to be playing Bluray games and downloadable contents."

Finally, regarding potential PS3 price drops, said Hirai, "When there are more games on the console and the unit itself has also shipped a fair number, one trend is that we are able to reduce the costs... This is a common trend so the PS3 doesn't need to go against [it]."

Hit the link to view the translated interview.

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The father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, has been shuffled out of his developmental position and reassigned as a CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI). This may sound like a promotion, but it effectively removes him from his position as the reins-holder of the PlayStation franchise. Anaylists believe this is due to a lackluster PS3 launch and a generally disappointing performance of the PSP.

Replacing Kutaragi will be Kaz Hirai, currently the President/CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). He's the one in charge of stateside operations of PlayStation stuff, and will now be in charge of the entire Sony Computer Entertainment company.

This seems a bit strange, for if I had to attribute the failures of the PS3 and PSP to anything, it would have been the crappy marketing and branding (the things Kaz was responsible for) and not the systems' technologies (which Kutaragi was responsible for).

Some are saying this will change Sony's direction from hardware to software (effectively what happened to SEGA after the Dreamcast died). Could this mean no PlayStation 4? Is Sony already deserting the console war? Can any more hype and outlandish predictions be siphoned from a single corporate shakeup?

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